The most disturbing scenes in the popular Thai Netflix series Evil Lawyer are not the courtroom battles or the corrupt deals struck behind closed doors. They are the depictions of slave labour aboard Thai fishing vessels.
Audiences were horrified, and rightly so. Because this is not merely television drama. It reflects a grim reality that once tarnished Thailand's international reputation and, unless safeguards are maintained, could re-emerge.
Corrupt police, crooked politicians and shady businessmen are familiar characters in Thai films and television series.
But Evil Lawyer goes further by exposing corruption within the judiciary, long a taboo subject because of fears over contempt of court and defamation lawsuits. When the myth of judicial perfection is challenged, accountability becomes possible.
The series also shines a light on labour abuse in the fishing industry. These brutal scenes did not spring from a writer's imagination; they echo realities Thailand has struggled to overcome for years.
Migrant workers were trafficked onto fishing boats. Many were beaten and some died from abuse. Others were forced to remain at sea for months or even years, with little chance of escape. Workers who resisted or became too weak to continue could simply disappear without trace.
The abuse persisted because of corruption, weak law enforcement and public indifference.
Many Thais looked the other way. Because the victims were migrant workers, it was easy to regard their suffering as someone else's problem. Meanwhile, the government worried about seafood exports, while powerful figures in politics and business continued to profit.
Meaningful reform came only after international pressure mounted. In 2015, the European Union issued Thailand with a "yellow card" warning over illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, while the United States downgraded the country to the lowest tier in its Trafficking in Persons report.
The military government responded with sweeping reforms. Illegal vessels were removed from the system and fishing boats were required to install tracking devices. Crews had to be registered, and boat owners were required to report who was on board every time a vessel left and returned to port.
Authorities could finally verify who went to sea and who came back. Abuse did not disappear, but concealing it became far more difficult.
The results were significant. The EU lifted its yellow-card warning in 2019, Thailand's trafficking ranking improved, and fish stocks in some areas began showing signs of recovery after decades of overexploitation.
Not everyone welcomed the changes. Backed by political parties across the spectrum --including Pheu Thai, Bhumjaithai and even the progressive People's Party -- the commercial fishing lobby last year successfully pushed for extensive revisions to the law that had helped Thailand escape international sanctions.
Penalties were reduced, restrictions on destructive fishing methods were relaxed, labour protections were weakened and reporting requirements became less stringent.
Human rights and environmental groups warned of the consequences. Allowing vessels to leave port without validating crew lists makes it easier to conceal undocumented workers. Permitting transfers of workers and catches at sea increases opportunities for illegal fishing and labour abuse.
Longer periods at sea can also become a nightmare for workers trapped under abusive employers, forced to endure gruelling conditions that amount to modern slavery.
The risks extend beyond labour exploitation. The amended Fisheries Law also favours environmentally destructive trawlers by relaxing restrictions on fine-meshed nets and night fishing with luring lights, practices that had long been banned.
The victims are not only migrant workers but also coastal communities, consumers and future generations.
Labour rights activists say conditions have already deteriorated since the law was amended. Assistance mechanisms at ports have weakened, monitoring has become more difficult and access to workers has diminished, creating more opportunities for exploitation.
The real scandal is not that slave labour once existed in Thailand's fishing fleet. It is that, after everything the country has learned, public indifference risks allowing it to persist.
The lesson of Evil Lawyer is not simply that corruption exists; most people already know that. It is that corruption flourishes when people choose to look away.
